What are bolt cutters used for?
What are bolt cutters used for? |
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Bolt cutters are used in many different sectors including shipping, for opening sea containers; the electrical and building trades, for cutting through metal wires and other structural materials; and farming, for working on fencing. | |||
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They are particularly useful for construction workers undertaking tough and repetitive tasks such as cutting to size thick steel “rebar” mesh panels, which are built into walls to reinforce them.
In such jobs, long-handled cutters are useful to prevent the need for repeated bending. The handles on these models are lightweight and the grips cushioned, to lessen the effort needed to carry and control the tool. |
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Bolt cutters are vitally important to emergency rescue workers, who rely on a sturdy pair to cut through locks and other metal obstacles and enable them to rescue people who are trapped. They also use the tools to cut away plasterboard and access wall cavities if they suspect a fire might still be smouldering inside. | |||
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They are also used on both sides of the law: by the police, for example, in cutting free activists who have chained themselves to objects during protests… | |||
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…and, sadly, by thieves to “liberate” valuables such as other people’s bicycles, or tools from locked garden sheds. | |||
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